Shyamasundara Dasa: Story 18: Any Pleasure and Sacrifice in Devotion?
Some herons were standing next to a boggy pond. A swan happened to pass by. One of the herons asked the swan, “Why are your eyes, face and toes so reddish?”
The swan answered, “Well, I’m a swan.”
The heron then asked, “Where do you come from?”
“From Lake Manasarovar,” the swan replied.
“So, how’s it like there?”
“Well, the water of that lake is like nectar. Golden lotus flowers grow in gardens on the surface of that lake, and all around are jewel-bedecked platorms on which beautiful trees and plants that bear exotic fruits and flowers grow.”
The heron had a final question: “Are there big-sized snails?”
“No, we don’t have any snails at Lake Manasarovar,” was the swan’s answer.
The herons exchanged mocking glances. “Damn, what a place you come from, friend,” they ridiculed the swan. “If there are no snails at all, then we can’t even consider it a lake! You’d never catch US going there!”
Similarly, people who label themselves as humanists, servants of mankind, philanthropists, etc. are curious to know if the Krsna consciousness movement engages in social and humanitarian works such as offering free medical services, distribution of food and water in regions stricken by famine and drought, handing out clothing to the needy, providing education for the illiterate, and so on. When they are told that none of these activities are considered by devotees to be very important, they fail to see any value whatsoever in Krsna consciousness.
These people are bereft of philosophical sense. They cannot or will not use their brains to trace out
1) what are the fundamental problems of life,
2) who is suffering from them, and
3) what is the root cause of these problems. Just a little reflection upon these themes will bring a philosophical person to the conclusion that the fundamental problems of life are birth, old age, disease and death. He will see that every living entity in the material world suffers from these problems–whether he is a welfare giver or welfare recipient. And finally, the root cause of these problems is the condition of having a physical body.
One who understands these basic facts of life can see that mundane welfare work yields no lasting solution to the fundamental problems of embodied existence. Feed someone today, he’ll be hungry again tomorrow. Cure his sickness today, he’ll be sick again next week. And finally he’ll grow old and die no matter what material comforts are given him.
Krsna consciousness is aimed at solving our existential problems at their root by curing the bodily conception. It is a spiritual treatment of the soul’s ills; it reveals to the practicioner that he or she is not a tormented, struggling lump of flesh, but an eternal person made of pure consciousness whose real function is not exploiting matter but serving the Supreme Transcendent Person, Krsna, of Whom we are all expansions.
You will never spread KC by having a condescending attitude to those not familiar with it. “These people are bereft of philosophical sense…” Statements like this are offensive and counterproductive.
Appearances are everything. You have to walk the talk. If KC devotees are perceived as being aloof and superior to the problems of the material world, we will fail to attract converts. KC is rapidly becoming irrelevant and out-of-touch with the problems confronting the world, particularly in North America.
Membership is declining, book sales are down, young people are not joining. The world is in a serious mess, and it’s going to get a lot worse. We claim to have the solution, but our message is not being heard. We need a fundamental reappraisal of our approach.
Interesting topic! Bhoktaram yajna tapasam…Krishna is the enjoyer of our sacrifices. Each and every moment, the minute free will of the jiva soul is in play. We small souls can choose to lord over matter or we can choose (through knowledge and devotion) to recognize Krishna, Krishna consciousness. Self consciousness vs. Krishna consciousness. There are degrees of Krishna consciousness. Srila Prabhupad used the example of getting rock candy from sugar cane juice. When the sugar cane stalks are pressed to draw out the sugar cane juice, it is then heated so that the water comes off of it, leaving behind progressively thicker sweet material until finally there is rock candy.
Hrishikena hrishikesha sevanam bhaktir ucyate…when the senses (which we take to be our “own”, but are in reality the property of Krishna), such is how bhakti is defined. Just as the sugar water is diluted, so too our experience of bhakti is diluted. Gradually, by the mercy of Sri Gurudeva and Sri Krishna, bhakti becomes more and more concentrated. In the plane of pure spiritual devotion, there is no matter to interfere with the ecstatic loving exchange between the jiva souls (who are part and parcel of Krishna) and the Supreme Personality of Godhead. It is amazing that the Summum Bonum, the Supreme Creator of everything, the Greatest of the great, the very life of our life, is so kind and merciful to be interested in His tiny jiva soul expansions…each and every one of them…Suhridam saravabhutanam, the dearmost Friend of every living entity.
As far as helping others, Srila Prabhupad used the example that if someone is drowning, and you swim out to save them and simply take their clothes but leave the person to drown, then you have not saved them. Always remember that Humanists are by definition atheists, whose primary deity is mankind. The enlightened bhaktas have a vision that waters the root (because God is real even if currently unseen). In fact, the Srimad Bhagavatam says this literally: sa vai pumsam paro dharma yato bhaktir adhokshaja…God is adhokshaja, beyond the purview of our current conditioned senses. Yet, serving Him, even if unseen, is the supreme dharma, the supreme occupation. As Draupadi’s prayers and the prayers of countless devoted souls can attest, God is real. Perhaps you cannot see Him…but one day you might. Pusta Krishna das